Process of water purification



Patented July 13, 1937 PATENT OFFICE PROCESS OF WATER PURIFICATION Oliver M. Urbain and William It. Stemen, Co-

lumbus, Ohio, assignors to Charles H. Lewis,

Harpstcr, Ohio No Drawing. Application August '1, 1935, L

7 Serial No. 35,203

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel water purification process developed by us. A

Specifically, the process of the present invention is concerned with the oxidation of the organic compounds present in the water in true solution. Known processes have been developed for removing the suspended and colloidal matter from polluted water, sewage and the like but these processes for the most part yield an eiiluent that still contains substantial polluting substances in true solution. It is to the removal of these polluting substances in true solution in'the eflluents from purification processes that the tion of this fraction is, therefore, an important problem.

The process of the, present invention contem- I plates a methodfor oxidizing the ,organlc sub-v stances present in true solution in the water directly with oxygen in a short period of time. Direct oxidation of organic substances has been 30 the subject of extensive research. The present invention has been developed through such research.

In the widely used activated sludge process the oxidation is carried on through biological agen- 35 cies, namely, Protozoa and bacteria in the pres- Y ence of an excess'of difiused oxygen. In this method, the process of oxidation requires from four to six hours which delay is a very serious objection to the process. Furthermore, the bio 40 logical balances are so delicate'that favorable conditions required to effect any substantial oxidation are seldom attained. The entire equilibrium of this process is destroyed by the presence of any of the so-called industrial wastes and by 45 slight changes in the pH of the sewage. These factors have made the installation of the activated sludge process in industrial cities extremely hazardous.

It is an important purpose of the present in- 50 vention to provide anoxidation process requiring only a short oxidation period; also to provide such a process that will not be subject to variations in the composition of the sewage.

, Another object of the invention is to provide 55 a process that may beutilized in connection with present activated sludge process installations, as well as with chemical precipitation processes.

We have found that the organic constituents present in true solution in sewage can be oxidized to a sufliciently low 3. O. D. to be, for all prac- 5 tical purposes, stable. We accomplish this direct oxidation by passing diffused air through the solution in the presence of metallic iron and sulfonated coal.

The term sulfonated coal employed in the present specification and claims is intended toembrace sulfonated carbonaceous materials produced as hereinafter outlined.

In the preparation of the sulfonated carbonaceous materials suitable for use in theinvention, any of the following carbonaceous materials may be used: bituminous coal, anthracite coal, lignite, cannel coal, peat and coke.

The carbonaceous material selected is firs finely 'powderedto say 10 to 50 mesh.

The finely powdered material is then treated with any of the following reagents:-

1-100% sulfuric acid.

z-Fuming sulfuric acid.

3-Dilute sulfuric acid.

4-Solution of sulfuric and hydrochloric acids.

5-Solution of sulfuric and halosulfonic acids.

The solution selected is added to the finely divided carbonaceous material and the mass agitated until the evolution of SO: gas is complete. when the evolution of S02 gas has ceased, the end point of the various reactions is indicated. Heat accelerates the reactions.

Pressure also accelerates the reactions. The finished product has a volume about twice that of the raw carbonaceous material employed. The porosity is very greatly increased as a result 01' the swelling of the material. As shown by the low ash content of the finished product, the inorganic constituents of the raw material are very greatly reduced by the treatment. The principal reaction which takes place is the oxidation of certain constituents of the carbonaceous material, as evidenced by the evolution of S02, the sulfuric acid being reduced to sulfurous acid. The sulfo group -(--SO3-H) is introduced into the finished product. The finished product not only contains active carbon but. which is of more importance, it contains activemydrogen which is acidic in nature.

After the material is prepared, it is water washed and ready for use.

The iron should be employed in the form of borings or added as powdered iron..

The mode of carrying out the process is as 55 follows: The suspended and colloidal matter present in the polluted water to be treated is first removed, preferably by a suitable chemical precipitation process, and the clarified eiiiuent is then treated by adding thereto approximately fifty pounds of sulfonated coal per million gallons. .The liquid isthen agitated to thoroughly distribute the added material therethrough and then passed, preferably downwardly, through a bed of umetallic iron borings countercurrent to the flow of diffused air in excess, the flow being so controlled that the solution carrying the sulfonated coal" will 'be maintained in intimate contact with the metallic iron in the presence of the diflused air for a time period oi substantially thirty minutes. The eiiiuent following the treatment with diffused air may have added thereto 'from ten to fifty pounds of calcium hydroxide and ten to twenty pounds of ferrous sulfate per million gallons, and agitated fromwne to two minutes. The precipitate is allowed to settle and the purified e'iiiuent is drawn ofi. This eiiluent is virtually completely purified both from the standpoint of oxygen demand and pathogenic microorganisms. L While we are not thoroughiy'conversant with the theory underlying the success of our improved process, we firmly believe that it embraces auto oxidation, induced oxidation and catalytic oxida-' H021.

.Having thus described our process, what we claim as our invention is: l1. A process for oxidizing the organic constitaosaras coal, peat, and coke, and finely divided metallic iron.

3. A process for omdiiing organic matter present in. water comprising adding to the water containing said organic matter a carbonaceous ma terial selected from the group including sul- Ionated and sulfated coal, peat, and coke, and

then passing the same in contact with a bed of metallic iron'and difiused air in excess for a Rig: period adequate to omdize said organic ma 4. A process for oxidizing organic matter present in true solution in water comp 1 to the water-substantially fifty pounds of a carbonaceous material selected from the group including sulionated and sulfated coal. peat, and coke, per million gallons, then passing the water through a bed of metallic iron borings while in contact with difiused air in excess, for a time period adequate to eflect oxition of said organic matter. 

